1. ORGANISING HIGH PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABLE EVENTS
Katarina Torstensson, Sustainability Director - Goteborg and Co
Guy Bigwood, Managing Director - Global Destination Sustainability Index
3. OBJECTIVES
1. Learn an approach to making your events more sustainable
2. Understand the importance of measurement and storytelling
3. Take away at least 5 new best practices
4. •
25. Principles of event sustainability
Sustainability for events means
taking action towards
• preserving our natural
environment
• promoting a healthy, inclusive
society
• supporting a thriving economy
https://www.eventscouncil.org/Sustainability/
Sustainability-Pledge
26. ACCOMMODATION
VENUE
ENERGY & OFFSETS
MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS
BACKOFFICE & AGENCIES
Sustainability for events means
taking action towards preserving
our natural environment;
promoting a healthy, inclusive
society; and supporting a thriving
economy.
TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY OUTREACH
FOOD AND
BEVERAGE
Builds upon APEX/ASTM Environmental Sustainability Event Standard covering all major areas of meeting
production
DESTINATION
PRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION, IT, AUDIOVISUALS, EXHIBITS
Tactical Approach
27. Q1. What is the most
important area to
address?
29. Choose a sustainable destination
• Destination’s Environmental Performance
• Destination’s Social Performance
• Supplier Performance (hotels, venues, DMCs)
• CVB Performance The city of Kyoto has a landfill diversion rate
of practically 100%!
When choosing a destination consider the
following four areas:
30. SEARCH REVIEW COMPARE
Global Destination Sustainability Index - www.gds-index.com
How do you find a sustainable destination?
31. 50 cities from 5 continents and growing
Our goal is to have 300 global destinations by 2022
Top Ten City Name Country
1 Gothenburg Sweden
2 Copenhagen Denmark
3 Reykjavik Iceland
4 Oslo Norway
5 Uppsala Sweden
5 Helsinki Finland
6 Malmö Sweden
7 Zurich Switzerland
7 Glasgow Scotland
8 Melbourne Australia
9 Sydney Australia
10 Brussels Belgium
10 Espoo Finland
31 St Petersburg Russia
A Global Community of Collaborating Destinations
32. 90
79
95 97
94
81
77 76
78
82
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
2018 Env 2018 Social 2018 Supplier 2018 CVB Total 2018
Index Performance 2018
Gothenburg Top 10 Average
• Gothenburg is number one in the
Index in 2016, 2017, 2018
• Performance shows true leadership
and commitment
Gothenburg: GDS-Index Ranking
34. Select a sustainable venue
Look for venues with green policies, practices and certifications.
A venue with proper sustainability management in place will automatically make your sustainability efforts much easier to
implement!
37. Selecting, contracting and managing your suppliers
• Create a Sustainability policy
• Include policy and requirements
in your RFPs
• Make it competitive. Place 5 -10%
weighting in your selection criteria
• Include requirements in contract
39. Use Sustainability to Improve THE DINING EXPERIENCE
FLOSS
Fair
Local
Organic
Seasonal
Sustainable
39
40. Reduced bottle water (from 15000 to 5000)
Always vegetarian option
No fish from endangered stocks
100% eco and fair coffee
Organic, locally produced and fair
Changed policy
41. Q2. What is the biggest
source of waste in an
event
A. Food
B. AV Production
C. Marketing Materials
D. Event Branding
E. Other
44. The 5R’s: MCI’s Sustainable Production Approach
Rethink
•Work with suppliers
and partners to re-
design for
sustainability
•Dematerialise
•Use new eco-materials
Reduce
•Reduce non-
sustainable materials
(PVC)
•Reduce carpeting
•Reduce packaging
Reuse
•Produce reuseable
signage
•Upcycle signage to
bags, iPad covers
Recycle
•Work with suppliers to
improve waste
management
procedures
•Ensure sufficient bins
are on floor
Report
•Measure and disclose
impacts
•Set goals based on
performance
5 R’s of Sustainable Event Production
47. Rethink and improve
Dematerialise your badges – and use a digital engagement platform
https://crystalinteractive.net/event-technology/smart-wearables/
53. Avser tur-och-retur resor.
Koldioxidekvivalenter inklusive höghöjdseffekter
(uppräkningsfaktor 1,9 - den vetenskapliga
osäkerheten är dock mycket stor).
Figuren är baserad på 170 gram CO2-
ekvivalenter per person-km, samma för alla
destinationer.
Källa: Kamb & Larsson, 2018,
Klimatpåverkan från svenska befolkningens
flygresor 1990 – 2017
Bilden är gjord av Björn von Sydow, Chalmers.
Växthusgasutsläpp till olika destinationer
54. Offset your emissions
• Include a low cost per delegate fee (€1-2) to your
events and invest in certified development projects
• https://offset.climateneutralnow.org/
68. ICCB17 Sustainability Performance Summary
ICCB 2017 Results
Congress for 1500
people in Cartagena,
Colombia
Reduced Environmental Impact
Produced
1700 tCO2e
Offset
100%
annual CO2
output of
883
Colombians’
Local Economic Development
Sourced
53%
of food locally,
on average
Within
160km
Reduced Environmental Impact
Produced only
1 tonne of waste.
Diverted
56%
from landfill
Community Development
Invested
$12K
On 2 certified
conservation
projects
supported
2 Projects
Return on Investment
$11,700
Saving from
sustainability
actions
69. A little less conversation, a little more action,
please
70. ”We cannot solve our problems
with the same thinking we used
when we created them”
Albert Einstein
in Gothenburg 1923
71. ACCOMMODATION
VENUE
ENERGY & OFFSETS
MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS
BACKOFFICE & AGENCIES
The Event Industry Council
Sustainable Event Approach
focuses on 10 workstreams.
The toolbox uses guidelines,
templates and supplier
questionnaires to engage
the value chain to measure
and improve performance.
TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY OUTREACH
FOOD AND
BEVERAGE
Builds upon APEX/ASTM Environmental Sustainability Event Standard covering all major areas of meeting
production
DESTINATION
PRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION, IT, AUDIOVISUALS, EXHIBITS
Tactical Approach
72. Mind the Gap: 8 Steps to Better Events
1. Set a sustainability vision, strategy and policy for your
organisation
2. Engage your staff, volunteers and partners
3. Become a zeronaut. Aim for zero environmental impact with your
events
4. Demand sustainability from your suppliers
5. Be more inclusive
6. Engage attendees and sponsors
7. Communicate progress
8. Have fun!
73. A little less conversation,
a little more action, please
74. If you have any questions or require more information,
please contact:
Guy.Bigwood@gds-index.com
www.lessconversationmoreaction.com
www.gds-index.com
katarina.thorstensson@goteborg.com
http://goteborgco.se/en/sustainability/